The calculations of the Hungarian government produce different results on the fiscal deficit than the calculations of the International Monetary Fund, Prime Minister’s spokesman Peter Szijjarto said on public television late Wednesday.

"Our calculations show something entirely different," Mr Szijjarto said on m1’s Este programme, hours after the IMF projected Hungary’s general government deficit would reach 3.9% of GDP in 2012 and 4.1% of GDP in 2013.

The government targets fiscal deficits under 3% of GDP in both years.

Asked if the government could break from its "unorthodox economic policy", Mr Szijjarto said, "Extraordinary times call for extraordinary economic measures."

He said the government believes the European economy will soon come out of the crisis and the eurozone debt crisis will end, which will support the continuation of transparent, predictable economic policy in all member states.

Mr Szijjarto said the Hungarian government’s economic policy and the minister who implemented it were "extraordinarily successful".

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The European Commission (EC) raised its projection for Hungaryʼs GDP growth this year to 3.7% in a fresh forecast yesterday. The projection was raised from 3.6% in the previous forecast released in November. The EC publishes such forecasts three times a year.

Economic research institute GKI has left its projection for this yearʼs GDP growth unchanged at 3.8% in a fresh forecast, well below the governmentʼs official forecast of 4.3%. At the same time, GKI expects rising inflation and decelerating investments in 2018.

The World Bank Group puts Hungaryʼs real-term GDP growth at 3.9% in 2017, and projects the countryʼs GDP to grow by 3.8% this year. However, it forecasts the rate of growth to slow to 3.1% in 2019 and to 2.9% in 2020, according to the fresh issue of the bankʼs Global Economic Prospects report.

The Hungarian Ministry for National Economy maintained the projection of 4.1% GDP growth in 2017 and a 4.3% increase in 2018 in a statement released on December 27. Meanwhile, the household consumption spending growth is expected to slow considerably.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has raised its GDP growth forecasts for Hungary in its biannual Economic Outlook released on Tuesday, according to a summary by Hungarian news agency MTI.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is predicting that Hungaryʼs GDP growth could slow to 2.8% in 2019, from a projected 3.2% this year and 3.4% in 2018, according to the November issue of its regional economic outlook for Europe, cited by state news wire MTI.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) raised its forecast for Hungaryʼs GDP growth this year to 3.8% on Tuesday, up from its forecast of 3.0% in May, Hungarian news agency MTI reported. The EBRD also raised its forecast for next yearʼs growth from 3.0% to 3.4%.

Given the high rate of investments in Hungary, economic research institute GKI has raised its GDP growth forecast from 3.5% to 3.8% for both this year and the next. Despite the positive outlook, there are long-term risks too, GKI added.